The city of Tybee Island received the first "Outstanding Achievement in Sustainability" award at the fourth annual Coastal Business, Education and Technology Alliance Awards on Thursday at Savannah Station.

"The city of Tybee is a steward of a fragile, finite environment," the nomination stated. "The city is committed to conserving Tybee's resources, protecting its ecosystems and educating its citizens about the importance of sustaining the community as an integral component of the world as a whole."

New this year, the sustainability award is designed to recognize an entity that has demonstrated environmental leadership through the use or creation of innovative products, business practices or legislative practices to help make the Creative Coast a more sustainable community.

Finalists for the sustainability award, in addition to Tybee, were Coastal Living Homes and OneWorld Sustainable Energy.

"The Coastal BETA technology awards recognize individuals and organizations for their contributions to our region's economy and quality of life," said Jimi Muse, co-president of Coastal BETA.

Muse's co-president, Jim Goodlett, praised the companies because they "aren't just planning for the future, they're making the future happen now," he said "They are Savannah's best and brightest, and they've learned how to leverage our regional assets to the benefit of the entire community."

Ossabaw Island Foundation for outstanding achievement in the use of technology in education. Other finalists in this category were Armstrong Atlantic State University and Georgia Southern University and the University of South Carolina Beaufort.

Ciber Inc. - an international system integration consulting company with offices in Savannah - for outstanding achievement in government. Other finalists were City of Savannah e311 and Georgia Port's Maritime Logistics Innovation Center.

Rail Machine - which provides enterprise-grade software, services and support for Ruby on Rails, a new Web application development - for outstanding achievement by an emerging company. Other finalists were Evoca and iTourSavannah.

Heavy equipment manufacturer JCB for outstanding achievement by a mature company. Other finalists were Elan Technology and Entre Solutions.

Savannah Music Festival for outstanding community contribution. Other finalists were Service Corps of Retired Executives and Savannah Economic Development Authority's sponsorship of the Inc.500 Conference and Awards Banquet.

Rick Winger, president of the Savannah Economic Development Authority, received the Howard J. Morrison Leadership Award.